NAIROBI- Kenya – Doctors in the country continue to exercise their Constitutional freedom of assembly, demonstration picketing and petition as enshrined under Article 37 of the Constitution.
The said Article provides that every person has the right in a peaceful manner and unarmed, assemble, demonstrate, picket or present petitions to public authorities. The operating words that we need to take cognisance of are peaceful and unarmed.
As witnessed, the doctors have held peaceful demonstrations and they were unarmed, unless anyone has information to refute this claim, hence they were doing so in line with the provisions of the Constitution. As we are aware the doctors in the country are raising legitimate concerns that they wish are comprehensively addressed by the government to include the issue of posting of interns, their monthly allowances and the collective bargaining agreement.
It is worth noting that the doctors were ready to negotiate with the government only for a meeting to be scheduled and lawyers, instead of Ministry of Health officials led by the Cabinet or Principal Secretaries being present.
One then questions the actual commitment by government to actually end the strike and doctors go back to treating numerous Kenyans who are ailing in hospitals, given they are entitled to the highest attainable standards of health under the Constitution.
What is more worrying is the conduct of the police during the said strikes. They have acted in what we can term as impunity, they have a clear mandate and that is to serve and protect the citizenry who dwell within the borders of this country and call it home. ‘Utumish kwa wote’ being the moto that guides the police directly translated means ‘Service to all’ should include protecting the striking doctors during their peaceful demonstrations.
Unfortunately, on 29th February 2024, the KMPDU Secretary General Dr Davji Atellah was shot at by the police during peaceful demonstrations. Such heinous acts cannot be allowed from those whom have been entrusted with our protection.
It is noted, and a fact, that the doctors had operated within the law and issued their notice to the police on their intended demonstrations where they equally sought their protection. With this context in mind, were the police then justified to take the action they did with the secretary general, no they did not.
On 14th April 2024, the IG of Police issued a press statement directing all his juniors to not allow any doctors strike to happen where he threatened that the striking doctors were to be dealt with ‘firmly and decisively’. It does not take a genius to appreciate what such threats entail. It becomes rather concerning that such threats can be issued from the highest authority in the police service. The issue of disruption and infringement of other members of public rights to me did not hold water to warrant such a threat.
The question that ‘criminals’ had joined the strike to cause havoc and mayhem equally felt like a scapegoat and a loose justification to infringe on the right and freedoms of the striking doctors. On 11th April 2024 the doctors did issue a notice of the nationwide strike which took part on the 16th of April.
It was commendable that the IG and his officers did not make good their threats. However, despite this fact, their conduct during the nationwide strike cannot be easily forgotten. As history will bear us witness, police in the past other than after hue and cry of the public, majority who commit heinous acts such brutalising peaceful protesters remain unpunished.
I would imagine that the officer who shot at Dr Atellah would be right now facing chargers of attempted murder.
The police need to remain guided by their motto and let us see the ‘Utumish kwa wote’ in action. They have rules, procedures and codes of conduct which they should adhere to. Kenya remains a democratic country governed by the rule of law and Constitutionalism and the Police need to equally adhere to this.
They should ensure that the rights and freedoms, including the ones being exercised by the striking doctors, are not infringed upon. The nationwide strike will indeed continue until the demands are met, let the doctors be fully protected.
Wallace Mbugua is an Advocate of the High Court and a Programme Officer at ICJ Kenya. This article was first published on the Sunday Nation.
